The Buccaneers have struggled to run the football in 2014, and coach Lovie Smith knows it too well. The Bucs have rushed for fewer than 100 yards in eight of their last nine games and rank second to last in the NFL in rushing yards per game (84.0 ypg).
"A defense can just tee off on you if you can’t run the football," Smith said, per The Tampa Tribune. "When you can’t run the ball consistently in this league, it hurts."
The Bucs did rush for more than 100 yards in each of their first two games. Since then, they are averaging 73.8 rushing yards per game and 3.4 yards per carry.
The Bucs are averaging 21.7 run plays per game, which is the second-fewest in the NFL. Only one time this year has a Bucs' running back carried the ball more than 20 times. Offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo admits it might be time to change that, and get running backs Doug Martin, Charles Sims and Bobby Rainey more carries.
"We haven’t tried that yet," Arroyo said when asked if the solution might be as simple as calling 30 or more rushing plays per game. "Maybe that is the answer."